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Public Act 102-0622
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| SB0662 Enrolled | LRB102 13536 CMG 18883 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is |
amended by adding Section 65.110 as follows:
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(110 ILCS 947/65.110 new) |
Sec. 65.110. School Social Work Shortage Loan Repayment |
Program. |
(a) To encourage Illinois students to work, and to |
continue to work, as a school social worker in public school |
districts in this State, the Commission shall, each year, |
receive and consider applications for loan repayment |
assistance under this Section. This program shall be known as |
the School Social Work Shortage Loan Repayment Program. The |
Commission shall administer the program and shall adopt all |
necessary and proper rules to effectively implement the |
program. |
(b) Beginning July 1, 2022, subject to a separate |
appropriation made for such purposes, the Commission shall |
award a grant, up to a maximum of $6,500, to each qualified |
applicant. The Commission may encourage the recipient of a |
grant under this Section to use the grant award for repayment |
of the recipient's educational loan. If an appropriation for |
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this program for a given fiscal year is insufficient to |
provide grants to all qualified applicants, the Commission |
shall allocate the appropriation in accordance with this |
subsection. If funds are insufficient to provide all qualified |
applicants with a grant as authorized by this Section, the |
Commission shall allocate the available grant funds for that |
fiscal year to qualified applicants who submit a complete |
application on or before a date specified by the Commission, |
based on the following order of priority: |
(1) first, to new, qualified applicants who are |
members of a racial minority as defined in subsection (e); |
and |
(2) second, to other new, qualified applicants in |
accordance with this Section. |
(c) A person is a qualified applicant under this Section |
if he or she meets all of the following qualifications: |
(1) The person is a United States citizen or eligible |
noncitizen. |
(2) The person is a resident of this State. |
(3) The person is a borrower with an outstanding |
balance due on an educational loan related to obtaining a |
degree in social work. |
(4) The person has been employed as a school social |
worker by a public elementary school or secondary school |
in this State for at least 12 consecutive months. |
(5) The person is currently employed as a school |
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social worker by a public elementary school or secondary |
school in this State. |
(d) An applicant shall submit an application, in a form |
determined by the Commission, for grant assistance under this |
Section to the Commission. An applicant is required to submit, |
with the application, supporting documentation as the |
Commission may deem necessary. |
(e) Racial minorities are underrepresented as school |
social workers in elementary and secondary schools in |
Illinois, and the General Assembly finds that it is in the |
interest of this State to provide them priority consideration |
for programs that encourage their participation in this field |
and thereby foster a profession that is more reflective of the |
diversity of Illinois students and parents they will serve. A |
more reflective workforce in school social work allows |
improved outcomes for students and a better utilization of |
services. Therefore, the Commission shall give priority to |
those applicants who are members of a racial minority. In this |
subsection (e), "racial minority" means a person who is a |
citizen of the United States or a lawful permanent resident |
alien of the United States and who is: |
(1) Black (a person having origins in any of the black
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racial groups in Africa); |
(2) Hispanic (a person of Spanish or Portuguese
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culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America,
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or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race); |